Head Librarian Colin Evans stands among the panels of the Refuge Canada Tent exhibit at the North Battleford Library. The traveling exhibit will be at the library until the end of the month. (Julia Lovett-Squires/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Julia Lovett-Squires

Refugee Exhibit

History of refugees in Canada exhibit coming to N.B.

Jan 17, 2024 | 5:02 PM

“We saw all people…dead along the road,” began a quote from Rolf Sers.

The Latvian Jew had once hid in plain sight as a doctor in the German military where he served in Ukraine and Russia. When he was later discovered and ordered to Berlin, he posed as a courier and went absent without leave (AWOL).

“As the German Front collapsed, he found himself in these columns of soldiers and refugees kind of heading West, you know, back to Poland and Germany,” said Curator Dan Conlin, who’s responsible for the Refuge Canada Tent tour.

It was as Sers was working his way back to Poland along a stretch of road towards the end of the Second World War that he saw the scenes of death and desperation.

Like so many refugees before him who witnessed atrocities in their home countries, stories of survival and resettlement are now part of the traveling Refuge Canada Tent exhibit created by the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

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The exhibit and all its history has come to the North Battleford Library and will be there until the end of the month.

Panels show images and stories of refugees. The exhibit is on at the North Battleford Library until the end of the month. (Julia Lovett-Squires/battlefordsNOW staff)

“It’s pretty exciting,” said head librarian Colin Evans.

He explained the exhibit – made up of five large main panels and interactive sections – begins with an overview of what a refugee is.

“I think the intent is to put yourselves in the shoes of a refugee,” he said noting the interactive pieces includes posing questions to the visitors.

Questions such as: Do you have a university degree? Do you practice your faith? Are you a journalist, a writer or an artist? When the visitor lifts each panel, they come to two options: yes or no. If the answer is yes, in some parts of the world, what and who you are may put you in danger of having to seek asylum.

“Where things might seem normal to you like attending a protest could mean you get killed or get put in prison,” he said.

“The first couple panels just sort of gets you to develop an idea and understanding of what refugees may be experiencing.”

As the panels progress, so too do the voices of displaced people and places they end up. One panel features heart-rending quotes and a map of the countries of origin and destination. Evans said they have had a number of people drop in to view the exhibit including college students.

“I think they did really appreciate it,” he said.

An interactive panel. (Julia Lovett-Squires/battlefordsNOW/staff)

According to Conlin, the fact Sers survived the war was rather remarkable.

“He was in what was left of the military unit and…he hadn’t deserted yet because he was still hiding from the Germans in the German army,” he said, noting by March of 1945, his true identity was revealed.

Two months later, the war with Germany ended and in 1950 Sers landed in Canada.

Of all the stories and the quotes in the exhibit, it’s Sers’ that strikes Evans the most.

“It just brings to mind… the disorder in the world and how there’s constant warfare and just importance of being a well-informed global citizen,” he said.

Delving further into the displays there is also an interactive timeline of refugees coming to Canada dating back to 1899. In the case studies, stories of the Armenians, Rwandans, Kosovars, and others over the last 125 years fill the frames to tell the viewer their stories. So different and yet heartbreakingly similar.

“The personal situations, like you hear about the war in Ukraine, it really hits you when you see the pictures and you hear personal examples, it sort of really hits home,” he said.

“That could be a neighbour, that could be a friend and life is so fragile.”

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julia.lovettsquires@pattisonmedia.com

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